Chapter 25: Deciphering the Truth

"What did they mean by Zedd?"

Night Shade replayed the battle once more and enhanced the audio. The various battle cries and sounds stirred some memories deep inside him and some of the tactics used were frustratingly familiar. The sight of the Purple Ranger changing into the strange Dragon-themed armour also brought of strange images through his mind and made the scar on his chest ache like Hell. For reasons unknown to him, he had unconsciously shifted back into his pony form…but could still access the magic that had been unlocked. The question of where he had gained the growth spell had finally be answered but even that answer had opened up another few dozen cans of worms. The strange Orange Ranger that had destroyed the monsters he could remember was in Equestria as well, but was sporting a different and changed look. As he accessed the file that had been recorded prior to his memories being unlocked, he noted that the Orange Ranger moved almost as if he had achieved a full and complete bond with the Ultra Crystal. Of course, that was impossible as his sources had informed him that such a feat would only be possible if the Ultra Crystal shattered and was reformed by magic. And since he didn't recall feeling the Crystals shatter that he could remember…

Hearing a door open behind him, he turned around to see a strange reptilian creature skulk in to the room. By all accounts, it looked like a unicorn that had been crudely and forcefully moulded into the form of a crocodile. He could make out small details that hinted at what the animal had been first, such as the pale blue half mane and the jagged remained of a horn that protruded from between the eyes. There was also a familiar magical aura around her…but he couldn't put his finger on what it reminded him of. A husky voice, almost luxurious in tone, came from the creature in front of him.

"My Lord, you summoned me?"

He nodded, internally infuriated by the increasingly familiar aura of magic surrounding her. If he were to take a stab in the dark about what it could possibly be, he would have said it had something to do with Zedd…which brought him all the way back to square one. Zedd was still, as far as he knew, attempting to throw his leg over the Power Rangers and make the Earth his. Of course, they would then have to sit down and figure out how to divide everything up but that was something in the future.

"Tricksy, is it? Apologies I haven't called upon you until now."

"It is of no concern. I am yours to command in whatever way you wish."

An uneasy feeling trickled down his spine at those words. There was no doubt in his mind that she meant what had been said and would carry out any order to the letter – no matter how degrading or demeaning. If he had any idea what she looked like before the transformation had taken place, he may have been tempted but as she was now…he forced himself to cut off that train of thought before it evolved into something truly disturbing. Stretching out all of his senses, he slowly walked around the reptilian pony and racked his brain for where to place her in his forces. It had been a rather rash and hasty decision to include her, but the alternative was to allow her to remain a free agent. That was not something he was comfortable with…too many variables there. However, there seemed to be another magical force coming from the strange crescent on top of her wand. It was something that was familiar to him – the tremors of a great mass of creatures just itching to be released. Perhaps he could use that force to his advantage somehow…

"Not to worry, however, I do have some questions I feel you will be able to answer. You seem more stable than Discord originally stated."

"Yes, my exile allowed me to pull the remains of my mind together and follow the True Master once more."

As she nodded, Night Shade attempted to make the connection once more. It was familiar to Zedd's style but there was no way he could have come to Equestria without the proper returning spell. There was only one way to make sure of it though, a spell word his brother had ingrained into every spell he had cast that would allow anyone in his family group to access the truth hidden within the very core of the possessed. It was an ancient and archaic word that didn't mean much of anything in 'modern times', but was apparently a phrase for asking a servant to bare all. The context wasn't known to them but they had been fairly young princes at that time and had only one thing on their minds. If it didn't work then that would be a great relief to him but if it did…well, he would get his answers about Zedd and his presence. He couldn't allow his younger brother to upstage him anyway. Nervously, he opened his mouth to speak the word.

"Ryokos'Ho."

To his utter astonishment, Tricksy's body went rigid for a few seconds and he could see thin lines of purple and red energy arcing over her skin. He closed his eyes, quietly quelling the emotional storm raging within him and focused his thoughts once more. So, Zedd had managed to come to Equestria somehow. There was a very real chance that it wasn't his brother who had come through but a dimensional copy and he held onto that tightly, but that had its own gut-churners associated with it. Shaking his head, he opened his eyes to see Tricksy struggling under the thrall of the spell and internally praised her for the strength of her mind. He paused and rectified that in his mind as a strong mind was obviously needed to hold back the tides of creatures. He would have to be very quick in gaining the information if he didn't want a tsunami of monsters giving away their position to the Rangers. dropping his voice low, he hissed at the frozen unicorn/reptile hybrid.

"Now, explain to me what everyone means by Zedd. What is the connection between my brother and this dimension?"

Tricksy's mouth felt like it was filled with cotton wool. Some magic inside her forced words to come out, even though she fought with all of her strength. She couldn't afford to let her mental control over her creatures slip – even for the barest moments – but the magic controlling her obviously didn't care about that. Whatever it was, it almost reminded her of the feeling of overwhelming power and madness she had felt in that one moment when Zedd's energy had entered her mind and body. She heard her voice spill out and she was utterly powerless to stop it.

"I…I do not know about the family connection, but I know that Lord Zedd arrived in Equestria as a ball of energy. He entered my original state and created a body for himself. It was he who released Discord from his tomb along with forcibly enspelling Gilda to work for him. As far as I know, he was defeated in the events of the battle two years ago but I am sure he has not been destroyed."

Well, that answered the question of if it was his brother or not. Zedd still had a body the last time he had checked and it was still his skinless ensemble with the Zycordian Silver that had cost a fortune and a half to create. Balls of energy seemed like good ways to travel through the Universe, or even through a portal, but coming out the other side hurt like crazy. Xonix opened his mouth and closed it as a thought occurred to him. There was one way he had heard of that a body of energy could possibly be separated from a physical being and that was if the two things were separate. That fully cemented the thought in his mind that this Zedd was not his brother but an entirely different Zedd from an entirely different dimensional plane. Thinking about it made his brain begin to throb in agony and he returned his mind to the next question in the queue – specifically the Dark Ultra Crystal owned by Discord.

"Was he the original owner of the crystal in Discord's possession?"

Tricksy thought about the question for a few seconds before nodding. Her Master had used the Dark Crystal several times but it seemed to resonate better with Discord for some reason. Zedd would not be happy with him whenever he returned from…wherever he had gone. However, there was something she had heard the traitor Dimitria talking about; a device in Canterlot that could be useful to their plans. In any case, telling Night Shade about it would make her immediate life so much easier.

"Yes, however he was unable to access most of its powers. It was also the object responsible for alerting the Ultra Rangers to our world as there was an object in the possession of the Rangers called a Multiversal Opener."

His eyes narrowed at the familiar words. A Multiversal Opener would mean that he could draw his forces from his own dimension to easily crush these Rangers. Such pathetic Rangers wouldn't stand a chance against the more savage creatures he had waiting in the wings and if all else failed; he could call upon Psychogre to deal with them. The Ultra Psycho Ranger would love the small challenge presented to him.

He paused as a strange feeling punched him in the gut. It felt akin to sorrow and longing, though he didn't know why he was feeling it. Psychogre was one of the strongest creatures in his army and the Ultra Psycho Rangers were overpowering if they fought as a cohesive unit. The only way they could be defeated would be if they came up against a stronger power but that was all but impossible. There was no stronger Power out there and he would do his hardest to bring all of them here. His mind hummed to life as he thought about ways of storming their Canterlot base and snatching the Opener from the foolish Rangers.

"Can we somehow gain access into their base?"

"It may be possible but it is something to be looked in to."

Absently nodding at the information, he felt the magic dissipate from her body as she was freed from the grip of the spell. Thanks to an elaborate debate session, his brother had also stated that it was only good for one use. The magic word would not work a second time and he really didn't want to press his luck futility trying for a second time. Ensuring the unicorn creature was free from any after-effects of the spell; he reached into one of his subspace pockets and withdrew a short scrap of parchment. The runes on the material glowed with power and Tricksy felt her eyes and gaze being drawn to it as it landed in front of her with a heavy thump. Night Shade nodded as reverently as he could and spoke softly.

"Thank you for your time. I want you to create a monster's body for me to a list of exact specifications. I will deal with the consciousness and intelligence."

Yes, the Multiversal Opener would be useful to his needs but he wanted to see how quickly the Rangers resorted to calling for help. Would they scream for assistance when faced with a foe several times stronger than them or would they press on in a foolish attempt to conquer the mountain? He blinked at the random thought that formed and smirked. Now that he knew that a Lord Zedd had come to Equestria, he felt more in control than before. He would ensure that Zedd never, ever left Equestria and battled the Rangers well into the future. However, that was a plan for the future. The Ultra Rangers were his target now and he grinned maliciously as he selected the monster to send after them.

It was time to lure them out.

TBC…

AN: Night Shade was supposed to find [Censored] in this chapter but I thought it was too early a reveal. Of course, if you've been following along, you know who I mean anyway.